“I think a younger sister.”
“How much younger?”
“Not much. A year and a half maybe.” Irys guessed.
“Can you bring her sister here?”
“Why?”
“With her sister’s help, I might be able to bring Tula back.”
“I’ll send a message.” Irys turned to the healer. “Hayes, let me know if Tula’s condition changes.”
Hayes nodded and Irys marched out the door.
Cahil and I followed. He said nothing as we left the infirmary and stepped into the twilight. With the sun almost gone, the air cooled and a faint breeze touched my face. I sucked in the freshness, trying to dilute the bitter smell of the girl’s horror.
“Pretty bold,” Cahil said, glancing at me. “To think you can reach her when a Master Magician could not.” Cahil strode away.
“Pretty stupid,” I called after his retreating form. “To give up before all possible solutions have been tried.”
Cahil continued to walk without acknowledging my comments. Fine. He had given me another reason to prove him wrong.
Dreams of Tula’s hideous ordeal swirled in my mind that night. Over and over, I fought her demons until, at last, they transformed into my own demon’s mocking face. Vivid memories of my own torture and rape at Reyad’s hands haunted my sleep. I awoke screaming. My heart hammered against my chest. My nightshirt was drenched with sweat.
I wiped my face, focusing on reality. There had to be a way to help Tula. Wide-awake, I dressed and went to the infirmary.
In Tula’s room, Healer Hayes slumped half-asleep in a chair. He straightened when I stepped closer to the bed.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No. I wanted to…” I cast about for the right explanation. “Spend some time with her.”
He yawned. “Can’t hurt, and I could use some rest. I’ll be in my office at the end of the hall. Wake me if anything changes.”
I sat in Hayes’s chair and held Tula’s hand. Reestablishing our link, I was once again inside her vacant mind. The ghosts of her horrors flickered past. I studied them, looking for weakness. When Tula came back, she’d have to deal with each of these ghosts, and I planned to help her banish them.
Irys woke me the next morning. I had rested my head on the edge of Tula’s bed.
“Have you been here all night?” she asked.
“Only half.” I smiled, rubbing my eyes. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“I understand all too well.” Irys smoothed the sheets on Tula’s bed. “In fact, I can’t stay here doing nothing. I’m going to fetch Tula’s sister myself. Bain Bloodgood, Second Magician has agreed to continue your training while I’m gone. He usually teaches history, and likes to lecture about famous and infamous magicians.” Irys smiled. “He’ll give you a ton of books to read, and will quiz you on them, so be sure to finish each of your assignments.”
Hayes entered the room. “Anything?”
I shook my head.
When he started to change Tula’s bandages, Irys and I left the room.
“I’m leaving this morning,” Irys said. “Before I go, I’ll introduce you to Bain.”
I followed her from the infirmary. We headed toward the large building with the peach-and-yellow marble blocks that was located across from the Keep’s entrance.
The structure housed offices for the Keep’s administrative staff. It contained various-size conference and meeting rooms, and an office for each Master Magician. According to Irys, the Masters preferred to meet with outsiders and officials in these rooms rather than in their towers.
Irys led me into a small meeting room. Four people huddled over a map that was spread open on a conference table. Other maps and charts were hung on the walls.
Of the four, I recognized Roze Featherstone and Leif. Roze wore another long blue dress and Leif wore his customary scowl. Beside them stood an elderly man in a navy robe and a young woman with braided hair.
Irys introduced me to the man. He had curly white hair that stuck out at odd angles.
“Bain, this is Yelena, your student for the next week or so,” Irys said.
“The girl you rescued from the north?” He shook my hand. “Strange mission that.”
Roze gazed at me with her amber eyes.
Unflinching, I stared back.
Irys stepped between us, breaking our eye contact. “And this is Zitora Cowan, Third Magician,” Irys said, gesturing to the young woman.
Zitora’s honey-brown braids hung to her waist. Instead of shaking my hand, she hugged me.
“Welcome, Yelena,” Zitora said. “Irys tells us you may be able to help us find Tula’s attacker.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
“Tula’s from my clan, so I would appreciate whatever you can do to help her.” Zitora’s pale yellow eyes shone with tears. She turned away.
“As you can see,” Bain said, indicating the room’s contents, “we are trying to deduce the methods and means of this killer. A very cunning and shrewd fellow. Unfortunately, that’s all we know. Perhaps fresh eyes can spot something we missed.” Bain pointed to the map on the table.
“She shouldn’t be here,” Leif said. “She knows nothing about this.”
Before Irys could speak in my defense, I said, “You’re right, Leif, I haven’t dealt with this before because a horror like him would not have survived in Ixia for long.”
“Why don’t you just run back to your precious Commander and your perfect Ixia and keep your nose out of our troubles?” Leif spat the words at me.
I drew breath to counter, but Irys put a warning hand on my sleeve.
“Yelena and Leif, that’s quite enough,” Irys said. “You’re wasting time. Catching this killer is imperative.”
Chastised, I peered down at the map on the table. The Sitian lands were divided into eleven territories, one for each clan. City and town locations were marked, as well as the places where the other girls had been found. Some towns had two victims, while others had none. I failed to see a pattern.
“The only consistency has been in the victims,” Bain said. “All are unmarried females fifteen to sixteen years old. All were missing for approximately twelve to fourteen days. All were taken during the night. Some were stolen right from the very bedrooms they shared with siblings. And no witnesses. None.”
My initial gut feeling indicated that magic had been involved, but I didn’t want to say as much in front of four Master Magicians.
“We have considered a rogue magician,” Irys said. “And while we have confirmed the alibis of the magicians who have graduated from our school, we are unable to question those who have one-trick powers.”
“One-trick?” I asked.
“There are some who have just enough magic to do one thing like light a candle, but are unable to use magic for anything else,” Irys explained. “One-tricks do not come to the Keep, but they normally use their gift in beneficial ways. Some, though, do use their ability for crime. Mostly petty. It’s possible this killer’s one-trick is to turn himself
